Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Now Covered by Bank of America

Bank of America began coverage on shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMTFree Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $150.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price target on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.42.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Walmart

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded up $3.53 on Friday, hitting $127.95. 29,182,853 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,656,280. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.70, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart has a 12 month low of $79.81 and a 12 month high of $134.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $120.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.07.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMTGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.10, for a total transaction of $1,694,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,308,944.40. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $2,460,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,023,209 shares in the company, valued at $509,780,812.39. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 261,903 shares of company stock valued at $31,829,749 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

Walmart Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)

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